Build-A-Bear Workshop Party - Natick, MA Review

Build-a-Bear Workshop was our choice of location for where our oldest son's 4th birthday was to be held.  It was his first birthday party to which his friends from school would be invited.  I wanted it to be memorable.

I booked my party online.  It was extremely user-friendly.  You pick a date, a time, the approximate number of guests, their average age, and a dollar amount you would like to spend on each guest's bear.  Then you make a $75 deposit to book the party.

Each party comes with a party leader, a goody bag (with stickers, a Build-a-Bear pin, and coupons for future visits), and an autograph bear that each guest signs and the guest of honour gets to take home as a keepsake.  A basic bear costs $10.  Then you decide what you want to add (if anything), such as a t-shirt, a sound, or an outfit.  We chose a $10 outfit, so our budget was $20 per guest.  Since all our guests were 4 year olds, they each had a parent with them who were welcome to purchase any additional accessories for their child's bear.

The party began with the children sitting in a circle so the party leader could explain the rules of Build-a-Bear parties to them.  Then they all got into a line and hopped to where they would choose their bears.  Since I had chosen the $10 bears, it was easier because they only had two to choose from.  Then off they went hopping with their bears on their heads to where the children would stuff their bears.  At that point they needed to come up with a name for their bear.  I highly recommend that you tell your guests to think of one ahead of time.  After each bear has been stuffed, they hopped back over to the party area where they would place the hearts in their bears.  Now I decided to purchase a purple heart for each bear of which the proceeds go to charity.  The party leader led the children in a dance to make their hearts warm and full of love before they put them inside their bears.  Then, to my son's delight, the party leader instructed the children to do the same thing with the regular red hearts and then told them to put them all in my son's bear so that it would have extra love.  Then the party leader closed up each bear and they all hopped back to the bathing and brushing station.  Each child had a turn to bathe and brush their bear before they all hopped back to the party area.  Then the party leader showed the guests which outfits they could choose from.  I was very pleased to see that there were many $10 outfits and they were all adorable.  Then she went through each one again and the children would then raise their hands to let her know that particular outfit was their choice.  Then the party leader and the parents helped to dress all the bears.

While all this was happening, the birth certificates with each child's and bear's name were being printed and were ready to hand out.  At this time, each guest placed their bear into a handled box shaped like a house.  And that was it!  They actually made 11 bears in one hour!!

The one drawback is that most Build-a-Bear stores do not have separate party rooms, so you cannot have a place to serve food, beverages, cake, or open gifts.  Most stores have an agreement with some place in the mall who will help you host the rest of your party.  In our case, it was a pizza place in the food court of the mall.  The store even gave us one very long ribbon for each child to hold onto while they walked through the mall to the food court.

The reasons why I didn't give the Build-a-Bear party 5-stars are (1)because they forgot to have everyone sign an autograph bear and present it to my son and (2)the party did cost a little more than I wanted to spend.  I would have loved it if they had more things for $5 than just a handful of t-shirts or if they had package deals for a small discount on a bear, a t-shirt, and a sound, for example.

I didn't remember about the autograph bear until we got home.  I called the store and the store manager offered to send one out to me, but I wasn't too keen on sending a bear to school with my son to have his classmates sign it, especially since two children were not able to attend the party.  I asked her if there was anything else and she offered me a $10 GC, which is what the autograph bear was valued.  I was very pleased at the level of customer service I received.

Overall, I think the whole experience was well-worth the money.  My son has great memories of his first birthday party and all his guests got to take home a well-dressed bear.  Every single child enjoyed themselves and I could tell that each parent was extremely pleased with how well the party planner did in keeping all the children interested and organized.  I highly recommend having your child's party at Build-a-Bear Workshop!!